To Be A Princess (court life)

2.1- Wife and Strife

Theo's POV

I stood horrified as father informed me of his recent decision.

He was sending everybody from the season of festivities home? That meant.... Rose. And if Rose left, who would I talk to? What would I do? Also, marry a Princess?! The thought of marrying anybody other than Rose makes me sick into my stomach.

I would be eighteen tomorrow.

***

"Happy Birthday Theo!" Rose exclaimed as she burst in through the servants door and into my room.
"You shouldn't be here! What if somebody sees?" I whispered, panicked.
She simply laughed.
"But I just had to wish you a Happy Birthday! You're eighteen now?!" She embraced me in a hug and all my worries disappeared simply from the sense of her touch.

I was enchanted.

She jumped excitedly. She was so cute when she was excited. She was so cute. Period.
"I got you a present." She smiled. "Of course, there is the formal gift which my father sent over to me to give to you 'with honour from the Duke of Ravenswood and family, your humble servants'" she mimicked. "Yeah right, humble servant my ass. The day I'm your servant is the day pigs can fly. Anyways, here is that." She finished and handed me a box embroidered in gold.

I opened the box to find a rare gem encrusted hour glass, along with a bottle of fine Indian wine.

"Wish he got me gifts like that." She mumbled and I giggled. "It's beautiful, thankyou." I smiled. Then her face began to glow.
"Now for the gift from me." She nodded and smiled, holding out a rectangular packaged wrapped messily with brown paper.

With love, Rose. Will never be your servant you arse, but will always be your friend x ( and the worlds' most awesome friend I might add)

I chuckled at the card and placed it aside. I began to pull apart the paper and it revealed a red covered book with no title. Just plain red.

"Okay, so do you remember how you were telling me about your favourite books one night in the stables, right? And you told me your absolute favourite books were the series "Quest for Diamonds" and that you read the entire 4 books at least once a month?"

"Yes, I remember... They are my absolute favourite series, and I told you about how it doesn't end properly and ends on the biggest cliff hanger because the author died before releasing the fifth book. So nobody knows if he dies or lives, or if he finds the diamond or not, OR If he and Stella finally admit their love." I began to ramble on. I truly did love those books, and could never stop reading them as I simply needed to know the ending and could not leave the series behind me until I had.

"Well...." She hesitated, suddenly becoming shy and almost scared. "That's the fifth book." She stuttered and I gasped, immediately flicking through the pages.
"But how?! The author was anonymous and he died before the last book was published? How did you possibly come across it?

"He did not die." She sighed sadly and excitement grew inside me.
"He is alive?!?"
"No, it was she who died. My mother wrote the books."

My jaw dropped and she continued to speak.

"I wrote the last page for her. She was on her death bed and had one desire, to finish the story. It is the only one of its kind. The first and only draft. I'm the only one who has read it." She choked back tears.